Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Sweet Yostacy’

ABSTRACT

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Sweet Yostacy’, characterized by its upright and mounded plant habit; freely branching habit; uniform and freely flowering habit; daisy-type inflorescences; pale yellow-colored ray florets with pink-colored apices; and natural season flowering in early October in the Northern Hemisphere.

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION/CULTIVAR DESIGNATION

Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar Sweet Yostacy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofChrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemum×morifolium,commercially known as a garden-type Chrysanthemum and hereinafterreferred to by the name ‘Sweet Yostacy’.

The new cultivar is a product of a mutation induction breeding programconducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. and Fort Myers, Fla. Theobjective of the program is to create new garden-type Chrysanthemumcultivars having inflorescences with desirable inflorescence forms,attractive floret colors and good garden performance.

The new Chrysanthemum originated by exposing unrooted cuttings of theChrysanthemum cultivar Stacy, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,852,to X-ray radiation in March, 1997 in Fort Myers, Fla. Following theradiation treatment, the cuttings were rooted and terminal apices wereremoved (pinched) three times to promote lateral branch development.After lateral branches from the third pinch reached sufficient size,terminal cuttings were harvested, planted and flowered in a controlledenvironment in Salinas, Calif. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered andselected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within thispopulation in October, 1997. The selection of this plant was based onits desirable inflorescence form, attractive ray floret color and goodgarden performance.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in acontrolled environment in Salinas, Calif. since December, 1997, hasshown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable andreproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Sweet Yostacy has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, daylength and lightintensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe the unique characteristics of ‘Sweet Yostacy’. These characteristicsin combination distinguish ‘Sweet Yostacy’ as a new and distinctcultivar:

1. Upright and mounded plant habit.

2. Freely branching habit; dense and full plants.

3. Uniform and freely flowering habit.

4. Daisy-type inflorescences.

5. Pale yellow-colored ray florets with pink-colored apices.

6. Natural season flowering in early October in the Northern Hemisphere.

Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are most similar to plants of thecultivar Stacy. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Fort Myers,Fla., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of thecultivar Stacy in the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flowered about three to four daysearlier than plants of the cultivar Stacy when flowered under artificialdaylength conditions.

2. Ray florets of the new Chrysanthemum and the cultivar Stacy differedin color as ray florets of the cultivar Stacy were white with pinkapices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of thenew Chrysanthemum. These photographs show the colors as true as it isreasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type.Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color valuescited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describethe colors of the new Chrysanthemum.

The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a side perspective viewof a typical flowering plant of ‘Sweet Yostacy’.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet comprises a close-up view oftypical inflorescences of the cultivar ‘Sweet Yostacy’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart, 1995 Edition, except where generalterms of ordinary dictionary significance are used. The followingobservations and measurements describe plants grown in an outdoornursery in Pendleton, S.C., under natural season conditions andpractices which approximate those generally used in commercialgarden-type Chrysanthemum production. One rooted cutting was planted ina 16.5-cm container in late July, 2002. Plants were not pinched, thatis, the terminal apex was not removed to enhance branching. During theproduction of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 29 to 32° C. andnight temperatures ranged from 16 to 21° C. Measurements and numericalvalues represent averages for typical flowering plants.

Botanical classification: Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar SweetYostacy.

Commercial classification: Daisy-type garden Chrysanthemum.

Parentage: Induced mutation of the Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivarStacy, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,852.

Propagation:

Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.

Time to initiate roots.—About four days at 21° C.

Time to produce a rooted cutting.—About ten days at 21° C.

Root description.—White, fine and fibrous.

Rooting habit.—Freely branching.

Plant description:

Appearance.—Perennial herbaceous daisy-type garden Chrysanthemum.Inverted triangle. Stems initially upright, then somewhat outwardlyspreading giving a uniformly mounded appearance to the plant. Freelybranching with lateral branches forming at every node.

Plant height.—About 23 cm.

Plant diameter.—About 39 cm.

Lateral branches.—Length: About 20 cm. Diameter: About 3.5 mm. Internodelength: About 3.2 cm. Aspect: Upright and outwardly spreading. Texture:Pubescent. Color: 146A.

Foliage description.—Leaf arrangement: Alternate. Length: About 4.6 cm.Width: About 3.7 cm. Apex: Cuspidate to mucronate. Base: Attenuate withtruncate tendencies. Margin: Palmately lobed, sinuses parallel todivergent. Texture: Both surfaces, pubescent; veins prominent on lowersurface. Color: Young and mature foliage upper surface: 147A. Young andmature foliage lower surface: 147B. Venation, upper surface: 147A to147B. Venation, lower surface: 147B. Petiole length: About 7.5 mm.Petiole diameter: About 3.5 mm. Petiole color, both surfaces: Close to147B.

Inflorescence description:

Appearance.—Daisy-type inflorescence form with elongated oblong-shapedray florets. Inflorescences borne on terminals above foliage, arisingfrom leaf axils. Disk and ray florets arranged acropetally on acapitulum. About 6 inflorescences per lateral.

Flowering response.—Under natural season conditions, plants flower inearly October in the Northern Hemisphere and continue to flower for atleast three weeks depending on weather conditions.

Inflorescence bud (before showing color).—Height: About 4 mm. Diameter:About 6 mm. Phyllary color: 143A.

Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 4.3 cm. Depth (height): About 1.3cm. Disc diameter: About 1.3 cm. Receptacle diameter: About 3.5 mm.

Ray florets.—Shape: Elongated oblong. Length: About 2.1 cm. Corolla tubelength: About 6.5 mm. Width: About 5 mm. Apex: Mostly emarginate.Margin: Entire. Texture: Smooth, glabrous, satiny. Surface: Mostly flat.Orientation: Initially upright, then about 65° from vertical. Number ofray florets per inflorescence: About 57 in about 2 to 3 rows. Color:When opening, upper surface: 4A to 4B; towards apices, faintly overlainwith 53A. When opening, lower surface: 4B to 4C; towards apices, faintlyunderlain with 53A. Opened inflorescence, upper surface: 8B to 8C;towards apices, overlain with 53A to 59A. Opened inflorescence, lowersurface: 8C; towards apices, faintly underlain with 53A to 59A.

Disc florets.—Shape: Tubular, apex dentate. Length: About 4.5 mm. Width:Apex: About 1.5 mm. Base: About 1 mm. Number of disc florets perinflorescence: About 110. Color: Immature: 154A to 12A. Mature: Apex:12A. Mid-section: 154C to 154D. Base: 155D.

Peduncle.—Aspect: Flexible, angled about 45° from the stem. Length:First peduncle: About 1.4 cm. Fourth peduncle: About 3.4 cm. Diameter:About 1 mm. Texture: Pubescent. Color: 146A.

Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anthercolor: 12A. Pollen: Moderate. Pollen color: 15A to 17A. Gynoecium:Present on both ray and disc florets.

Seed.—Seed production has not been observed.

Disease/pest resistance: Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have not beenshown to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to Chrysanthemums.

Garden performance: Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have been observedto be tolerant to rain, wind and temperatures ranging from 0 to morethan 40° C.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plantnamed ‘Sweet Yostacy’, as illustrated and described.